The biggest video game expo in the world is just days away now, with Microsoft, Sony, EA, and Ubisoft all set to have their pre-show press conferences on Monday, June 9. We’ll be in L.A. to cover it as it happens (starting at around 6pm with Microsoft and going on into the small hours by the time you get to Sony) and then E3 itself when it starts the next day.

E3 is where we get to see and play the games, and conduct our interviews, but the press conferences are when almost all of the new announcements are made. We’ve already made our predictions for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo (who have a livestream event on Tuesday) but that still leaves all the third party publishers to predict.

Usually their plans are a little easier to guess at, but this year there’s an odd division between those publishers that seem to be planning multiple new reveals (EA and Ubisoft) and those that are expected to show very little that hasn’t already been announced (Activision and Square Enix).

And then there are wild cards like Oculus VR, who we know have at least one major new game to reveal next week. Although before anyone asks: no, Valve aren’t attending; and no, we don’t think Half-Life 3 will be announced. We also don’t think the rumours of Resident Evil 7 or Fallout 4 are likely to pan out, although we hope we’re wrong because that’d be great and we do love a surprise…

Electronic Arts
Although EA had a good E3 last year, with Titanfall being one of the most celebrated games at the show, the disastrous launches of SimCity and Battlefield 4 meant that 2013 as a whole was a year they’d probably rather forget. But for E3 2014 they have one of the most exciting, and mysterious, line-ups of any publisher.

But whether EA exhibits any of the games in detail depends on whether they can be shown off without giving away anything about the new films. We already know that Battlefront contains original trilogy content, so that should be okay, but it’s anyone’s guess about the others.

Another big question is whether BioWare will show anything of their new Mass Effect game. There are rumours that a trailer will definitely be part of EA’s showcase, but we wouldn’t take that as read – as they’ll be keen not to overshadow this year’s Dragon Age: Inquisition.

There’s also the question of whether the new Mirror’s Edge will be at E3 this year, because although it got its own teaser trailer last year it’s never been heard of again since. There are also rumours of at least one other unannounced EA game, but since it’s skipping this year we would be surprised if there was any sign of a new Need For Speed just yet.

News of a Titanfall sequel is even less likely but we wouldn’t be surprised if there was a glimpse of more downloadable content, or perhaps even a PlayStation 4 port.

Ubisoft
The only publisher likely to rival EA in terms of the sheer volume of new games is Ubisoft. They’ve done very well out of the last few E3s, with the early reveal of Watch Dogs paying dividends no matter the controversy over its initial trailer. Ubisoft’s press conference will almost certainly offer the first looks at Far Cry 4 and Assassin’s Creed Unity, both of which are supposedly out this year. Although the fact that almost nothing has been seen of either just six months from their release is very unusual.

Far Cry 4 already has a confirmed release date but we do wonder whether Assassin’s Creed in particular might not be heading for a delay announcement. Especially as last gen sister title Assassin’s Creed Comet still hasn’t even been officially confirmed (although rumours suggest it’s set in 18th century New York and has you playing as a Templar).

There’s also the question of what’s going on with Beyond Good & Evil 2, which almost rivals The Last Guardian for the number of times people have expected it to be at E3… and left disappointed. Rainbow Six: Patriots isn’t doing too bad in that regard either, although this time we’re willing to bet it definitely will be part of the show.

Tom Clancy’s The Division will almost certainly be present as well, despite its delay, and we should finally get a release date for The Crew. There’s also a reasonable chance we’ll see word of a new Prince Of Persia reboot, which has been rumoured for years now and was being teased on Twitter only a few days ago.

ActivisionAlthough EA and Ubisoft are likely to be showing anything up to 10 games each at E3 the biggest third party publisher in the world will probably only be focusing on three. Activision’s approach to the games market is radically different than its rivals and instead of multiple games in every genre possible it has only three main titles at E3: Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Skylanders: Trap Team, and Destiny. Since the first two are currently amongst the most profitable franchises in gaming, and Destiny is the new title from the makers of Halo you can see where they get their confidence from.

Despite being out this year though the marketing for Destiny has still been fairly low key so far and we expect E3 to be the point at which the hype dials are turned up to 11. We also expect Activision to go all out with Advanced Warfare, emphasising its next gen visuals and the fact that it’s set further in the future than any other Call Of Duty before it.

Square Enix
The impression we get is that none of the major Japanese publishers will be having a particularly big E3 this year, even though most of Square Enix’s biggest titles lately have been Western-made. Instead, it’s our understanding that they’ll announce most of their new stuff later in the year.

Plans change all the time though, and you’d be surprised how many games are added or removed from a company’s E3 line-up at literally the last minute. Even so we wouldn’t expect to see anything more than new trailers for Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any surprises though and a recent slip up in a Twitch broadcast schedule seemed to imply that Square Enix is publishing action MMO Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade. There’s also been persistent rumours that Crystal Dynamics is working on a new IP, while it seems safe to assume that more Lara Croft is going to be announced sooner or later.

Bethesda
It’s been a very busy year this year for Bethesda, with Wolfenstein: The New Order and The Elder Scrolls Online on PC already out and The Evil Within due out in the autumn. We’ve already got an interview scheduled with Shinji Mikami, which we’re very excited about, and we’re sure the recently announced BattleCry will also be at Bethesda’s stand.

What they’ll do about the console versions of Elder Scrolls Online though we don’t know, with some rumours even suggesting they might be canned. It’s also unclear when the new Doom will be unveiled, with the only real confirmation of its existence being a mysterious beta promotion with Wolfenstein.

It’s even less certain whether Prey 2 is still a going concern, while a sequel to Dishonored seems inevitable and yet so far hasn’t even been hinted at by Bethesda. The biggest question by far though is when Fallout 4 will be announced. Fans have been waiting for it for years now, but although it’s not impossible to imagine it turning up at Microsoft or Sony’s press briefings we’d bet a modest sum it won’t be at this E3.

Confirmed games: The Evil Within, The Elder Scrolls Online, BattleCry

Outside chance: Fallout 4, Prey 2, Doom, Dishonored 2

WB Games
Warner’s video game division becomes a bigger deal every year and given the recent delay of Batman: Arkham Knight it’s very important for them to keep the hype bubbling over into next year. Some of their focus though will inevitably switch to Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor and the recently announced Mortal Kombat X. Although the latter surely means that there’ll be no word on an Injustice sequel, unless it’s just a simple trailer.

A reveal for the long rumoured Suicide Squad game may be more likely, or at least some sort of acknowledgement of DC Comics games outside of just the Batman titles – even if it’s just new content for the Infinite Crisis MOBA.

Of course it wouldn’t be E3 unless there was at least one Lego game, and this time it’s a new cosmic-flavoured Batman title. We also assume that the previously revealed Mad Max and Dying Light will be at E3, since they were there last year, although technically we don’t know that for a fact.

2K and Rockstar Games
Rockstar hardly ever turn up to E3 but they do occasionally use Microsoft or Sony’s press events to announce new games, and owners Take-Two Interactive have already said they have a new next gen game coming out before April next year. This is most commonly believed to be an Xbox One and PlayStation 4 version of Grand Theft Auto V, but it’s also possible it’s Red Dead Redemption 2 – which Take-Two has also confirmed is on its way. Although who knows, maybe it’ll even be Agent.

As for the 2K publsihing label, they have the previously announced Evolve (currently the only confirmed next gen-only game for the rest of the year), Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (the exact opposite in that it’s last gen-only), and the PC-only Civilization: Beyond Earth. There are also rumours that they have another unannounced game in the offing, but at the moment E3 doesn’t look like the likely venue for its unveiling.